


Eyes Like The Sea

by BlueEyedManticore



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:48:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23857129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueEyedManticore/pseuds/BlueEyedManticore
Summary: Queen Memundi of the Zerrakian desert has grown in power spreading her influence to every corner of the sands. Her goal is to vanquish all dragons for all time using enslaved witchers. What she's using the dragons for could change the sand forever. Such a witcher of the sands has been summoned against his will, Adasi of the Blue Sands. The school of the Manticore has resisted in the past and Memundi's memory is long. A trap has been set, the master of the Manticores, Nuru, has been captured. Nuru in the past has helped the Gryphon school of witchers and Adasi was assigned the liaison via letters to a Gryphon witcher nick named Blue. Can Adasi enlist the help of the Gryphons to free his master, find Blue and change his fate forever!?
Relationships: Adisa/Lyla





	Eyes Like The Sea

**Author's Note:**

> This is a first attempt, I have no idea what I'm doing but you can be as critical as you like.

" _ Her eyes so blue, I thought I'd get lost. _

_ To sail her waters is the last thing you'll see. _

_ Where the shores meet the sand that's where I’ll be,  _

_ Together her eyes and me _ .", sings a lone man upon a tired horse caked in dirt and dust.

It had been some time since the last place of respite. Their destination was far away from any other sources of water in the  Zerrakian desert for a reason, it was a place where they put people who weren't meant to be seen again. It had seen many caretakers over the centuries. There were lords who used its walls to hide torture and pain, kings who tried to throw extravagant festivals in this desolate corner just for the stories, and now its new owner, a queen, who seeks none other than total and complete control. Servants of the word traveled far and wide across Zerrakia to make sure every  witcher in  Zerrakia and beyond could hear:  _ "Ruler of the Sands, Master of Many, and Hunter of Dragons Queen  _ _ Memundi _ _ requests the presence of every  _ _ witcher _ _ in these holy sands to discuss the terms of a most lucrative and glorious contract, the vanquishing of the gold dragon that leads the horde gathering in our home of  _ _ Zerrakia _ _. Refusal to this proposal will incur the ire of her Eminence and such consequences will be discussed upon the apprehension of said traitor to the word. Master of the Manticore school  _ _ Nuru _ _ has already agreed to lead such a sacred mission and wishes all  _ _ witchers _ _ to heed the call. She speaks, it is done."  _ Or so  Adisa read when he saw the leaflet nailed to the board for work near the Wind's Chance, a tavern near the western half of the desert. "What's your plan teacher, why choose imprisonment?" he wondered aloud as the sun began to sink below the sands and a large sandstone castle of tan orange hues rose to take its place.

Adisa was of average height with brown skin only made darker by the long days in the sands. At his left hip attached to his belt were two sheathed swords, slightly curved to the hilt, and an assortment of pouches and vials. He wore no shirt as the feeling of sweat and clothe clinging to his bare back made him uneasy on jobs requiring stealth. It made it harder to feel changes in the wind. 

His hair pitched against the darkness nearly blended in if not for the various white strands that were scattered around his beard and head.  Nuru would call him young but those not from the desert would not be able to guess his age. His body was toned as if he ran, jumped, and fought for his life every day. His eyes a bright hue bending more towards gold as they got closer to the pupil with eyebrows often scraggly, his hair short and black but just as unkempt as his brows while shaven on both sides with elaborate curving  signi much less a spell but more so good luck. A single bracelet with a pattern etched into the bronze depicting the dreaded manticore was wrapped around his left hand as if it was trying to catch its own scorpion tail in its lion mouth and a neckless with a silvery chain and the manticore emblem bounced lightly against his chest as the tired horse clopped across paved stony road. 

To their left was sand and dunes and to their right were larger dunes that eventually lead to larger rock formations and beyond that, the mountains of the western ridge where it is told a great dragon ripped the valley into existence in its rage at humanity long  long ago. He couldn't help but think maybe a couple more valleys would open into the sands in the coming months. The dragons had been gathering in the north western portion of  Zerrakia , consuming everything and everyone that attempts to enter the territory and as new dragons have been spotted from  Temeria and even  Nillfgard. Their territory seems to be expanding. He had heard stories of a golden dragon that leads the horde, one so old and powerful they can shape shift and in their true form they would rival the mountains of the western ridge or the Valley of the Dragons in its size and majesty. 

Nuru’s voice interrupted his thoughts like a parent speaking sternly with their child , ”What is in the clouds but water and lightning. You would find plenty down here if your thoughts could stay on the ground!”  Adisa chuckled and triple checked the contents of the packs slung across the saddle to satisfy the teacher in his head. Grappling hook, whetstone, some extra food, return supplies, and potions prepared. These potions included Swallow, which wasn’t always easy to do since it tasted like ground up dandelions stirred with thick dirt and  a old shaggy dog’s pelt. No one said  witchers didn’t have a sense of humor. Its healing properties however should be enough to bring any mutant to fighting form in a few minutes. He even packed Manticore venom for coating his blades upon the unfortunate event he’d face something he thought he could only maim and not kill out right. If such a toxin entered your system you at first feel fire in your insides, coursing through your very veins. Your temperature would begin to climb and if the deliria didn’t incapacitate you the paralysis that would start from the wound would soon spread through your limbs. Depending on the amount of venom the death most humans would experience would be very long and very painful and very, very mad. If the venom enters your neck however and the paralysis reaches your head well...the expression you leave behind makes most unrecognizable even though the death is very much with the quickness.

“Blue wouldn’t be very happy knowing I had this, eh  Petre ?”, said the monster hunter as he jiggled the vial of deep black liquid near the horse’s eyes so they could see. “She always said if we’re going to be  killers we could at least make it quick. She never wanted to waste time...if I could tell her I’d say the Manticore didn’t mind and neither did the village that it was preying on...”  Petre made a sort of huff and a shake. This might not have been the first time they’d heard of Blue on a long journey. “Alright, alright, just it’s been awhile since I’ve written. I wonder if the Griffins have been sucked into this dragon war stirring in the sands. Each school of  witchers hunts monsters on their own terms, in their own countries. Some venture beyond their home into other regions sometimes for glory, sometimes for survival, but always because of circumstance.” Adisa chuckled at the idea that he often talked to Petre.

“Word has traveled that the other kingdoms are making a push to recruit  witchers of their own to prepare for the dragon threat. Some even say  witchers are being recruited to fight other threats to the crown, including other crowns. All shit...” he murmured as he tried to push the thought away but he knew there was  a lot of struggling out there and  witchers are no different. Coin is coin and for some there’s little difference between hunting monsters and hunting the enemies of royalty. Not Blue though, she’d want to help people. Always writing about the village children she met, more than the monsters she slayed unless the monster was  particularly interesting. Sometimes she would capture them and set them free in places where their attributes would better serve the world around them. This would mean she lied to the alderman or village chief or whoever gave the contract. The way she spoke of monsters was more the way a wizard would speak of a curious text they enjoyed, with precise  curiosity . 

It had been some time since the last letter...he wondered if all this caring had caught up with her. People in power don’t like being lied to by those who are considered beneath them, no matter what service they provide. Especially mutants, “freaks”, “abominations of the conjunction” was his favorite. Or maybe “hoof fucking witch lover”, he couldn’t decide. Blue said she preferred the latter. He had never seen Blue, he only knew the name she used for cover and that she was a she when it came to her appearance. But when it came to her person he often wondered if he pried too much for as curious about monsters as she  was he felt he was just as curious about her and  Skellige .  Adisa had never ridden in a boat much less between isles. He had fought monsters of the sky and of water but the scenarios a boat presented intrigued him. Using rope for momentum or to  ensnare . Balancing your footwork with the tilt and sway of the sea. She laughed at  these things . Salt was in her blood but she didn’t find sailing all that interesting. She was used to the cold and warm parts of  Skellige but when it came to the  desert he remember her words clearly, “So hot and dry it sounds like the closest thing to hell. Not that that’s a bad or anything, sorry. I just can’t imagine such a place. I don’t know how’d I’d feel about so much sand. But the life you describe going about sounds wonderful. Especially the wild dogs. We don’t have many dogs on the isles so any chance to go mainland I take it.” Blue in the desert he wondered, “Did I tell her we have a sea here? That might be the first place she’d go since the ports are all along the west, past the valley.” The memories of the beginning of their letters flooded his mind.

Their correspondence started because the Griffin school required aide in a joint hunt. A dangerous nest of sirens had infested one of the isles of  Skellige and threatened to cut off ships from the northern shores all the way down the eastern coast into  Niilfgaard . His teacher,  Nuru , handled it in conjunction with one of the experienced  witchers of the Griffin school, a golden  witcher named Silvia as the old scorpion put it. The migration of the first few dragons began shortly after that 5 years or so ago and their communication became more frequent. Not all the schools agreed but the Griffin school had met with  Nuru , his teacher, and of course the task of keeping communication was delegated to the only Manticore  witcher who could read and write well enough to not make the Manticores look like a few backwards sand pit mongrels in the middle of the  Zerrakian desert. 

Adisa and Blue decided code names would be best as it was entirely possible these messages could be intercepted but most of the norther kingdoms either didn’t care about the southern  witcher school or didn’t know it existed and the  Skellige school attracted very little attention as long as their alliance with the lion kingdom, Cintra, held. She said she picked Blue because that’s the most common thing in the string of islands known as  Skellige but  Adisa’s code name was not so common. Blue often made fun of him for it, Venom. He thought it appropriate but she thought it silly and instead told him to pick a favorite color. He asked if that’s why her name was Blue and she said no and so he said he wouldn’t be called a color then and that was that.

4 years of back and forth, and then months of silence. His usually point of contact was in the Wind’s Chance, a sallow dwarf named  Kobble StoneLicker .  Apparently the family name was one he chose.  Adisa respected this and never inquired further. The dwarf often sailed with a trader from  Skellige and for a few  bronze would take the occasional letter, or letters in some cases, and pass them on to  Adisa . Blue said the trader was reliable as they owned the  witchers a favor for clearing their route of a  deep sea scion. A rare monster that was attracted to something amongst the trade goods. Blue didn’t remember what as she was busy documenting the beast. She said it was a shame to kill it as its tentacles were rimmed with a series of glowing lights that grew bright in sequence. She said they showed with every color imaginable, one of the most beautiful sights she ever held and possibly an effective trait for tricking would be prey to hold still before devouring them whole. She said it was fast too, she even remembered a few of the strikes to practice as a new technique for downward sword strikes. She drew these in the letters and  Adisa studied religiously for a month. Ended up saving his life a few times which he thanked her by sending a package of fauna as she was a budding  gardener .

After a fairly straight forward job of dealing with a nest of tiger lilies he routinely checked in with  Kobble usually found drinking in the back at the Wind’s Chance or as  Kobble liked to call it the “Knuckle’s Fart”.  Stonelicker was particularly disgruntled, “ Nothin goin through and  nothin comin out, just like my asshole right Night Blade?” 

Adisa puzzled, “So no letters?”

Kobble turned from his drink snarling, “AIIGGHHH YEA! Do I have to spell it out for ye?! The queen has put her flaming cock through all trade to  Skellige until further notice...” and then  Kobble lowered his voice just above a whisper, “But if  ya ask me she wants to strangle the isles until Cintra caves and gives support to her cause.” And then took another swig of his ale.

“Ha, what for?  So the other kingdoms will respect her power??”  Adisa said with a sliver of concern.

“Scorpion’s tits if I know. More likely to stop your ass poor writing if you ask me!” Kobble chuckled.

“Fair enough.”  Adisa admitted with a swig of his ale.

“...Sorry about your asshole.”  Adisa added after some thought.

“It’s alright, maybe I’ll have a chance to loosen up with those broads over there.”  Kobble waved his tankard towards a group of the roaming mercenary tribe, the  Drakken Wings. A small cohort happened to be resting and reveling in a tale of defeating a  Niilfgaarden spy regiment who had wondered to close to the border of the Queen’s desert. They were said to be some of the greatest archers in the world with clothing parted at the breast to allow for more flexibility and draw strength when releasing their arrows on the move. They were even said to be imbued with magic that altered their bodies making the terms men and women irrelevant among their ranks, only using brother or sister when that member deemed it so. More often the term referred by other Wings depended how long you have been fighting.  Fletchingling , Leatherback, Raven, and Talon were titles  Adisa had heard before. But the Wings at the table kept referring to one of deep brown hair and pale skin as Feather Foot. The others seemed to be of  Zerrakia but she was  a odd one among the bunch, shorter but just as muscular as any Wing even showing through her sleeved blouse. They seemed to be making her blush boasting of her  exploits from the last mission.

“They don’t seem to have their tits out like the legends say but I hear they know how to drink you under the table and plow you into the equinox so they are just what a dwarf  needs .”  Kobble then finishes his drink and pats  Adisa on the back with enough excitement  Adisa’s drink nearly launched from his hands. “Here’s to women with nice cocks eh Blade of the Night?” says  Kobble who then proceeds to sing a merry tune about the Old Stone  as he wobbles towards the band of marry mercenaries:

_ Carved from rock my feet don’t move, _

_ Slashed from stone my heart won’t break, _

_ Peeled from boulder my mind without thought, _

_ They gave me life without slumber, the sands bore me whittled and grey... _

_ Until my eyes did see, her face shining with love and splendor, _

_ Tis then did I get my thoughts in order, _

_ Til _ _ then could my  _ _ stony _ _ heart break, _

_ Was for her,  _ _ T’was _ _ her direction...did my first steps take _

Adisa left before he could get word from Kobble on the prowess of the Wing’s bedding skills. The Queen was impatient and executions were usually her first choice, that and torture. Thus the sooner he could reach Nuru the better. And as the sun’s light faded into darkness so did the memory of Kobble, the Drakken Wings, and Blue. They felt like centuries ago as Adisa’s focus drew towards the large structure before him. One of the many strongholds Queen Memundi had captured and repurposed to use as prisons. Adisa and Petre were now 500 meters or so from the first guard post outside the desert castle. Adisa had seen this arrangement before, a guard post set as a perimeter check for formal “guests” while there were sentry towers set up along a border around the foundation of the castle with hawks used for messages... or for scouting. He assumed he had been spotted long before he reached the post but he arrived at a fortunate time. He knew these hawks were well known for their speed, due to a particular substance traded among the hawk masters of the White Desert. A powder often coating the rabbit, chicken, or venison that both the hawk masters ate along with their hawks. Heightened reflexes and an increased tolerance for pain they say it imbues with the powers of the northern desert. But a side effect of consistent usage was their eyesight became poor, especially during the night, hence why they sent soldiers on patrol near the torch lit roads but even with the aide of torches the two up the road did not seem to notice him.    
  
As he continued towards the first checkpoint the whiteness of the sands covered in the moon lit night gave an appearance of a dark blue landscape shrouding the white sand underneath. Nearby one of the large rock slopes that jutted out of a dune seemed to have misplaced some small rocks as they tumbled suddenly behind Adisa. Their pattering and rolling across the sands made him stop and scan his surroundings.   
  
“More the merrier eh Petre?” he whispered as he rubbed his horse’s neck more to relax himself than Petre. He moved his hands steadily keeping his eyes on the rocky formations meshed with the dune to pull a small vial from his belt. The liquid within gave a greenish light hue and as he popped off the cork and starting to consume it that same hue began to fill his eyes. Now the dark wasn’t so dark and he began to see the finer details of his nightly surroundings. Patiently he waited...then another group of rocks dislodged from the top of the rock face that curved above him just tall enough that he could not see the top of it. He stepped down from his horse and moved them closer to the rock face away from the road. 

Swords at his hips he walked quickly doing his best to move across the sand without sound, as the Manticores before him had taught. You push your weight into the sand and it makes an unnatural ruffle causing the dune to move more sand than necessary.  So the Manticore must move not resist the movement of the sand, but must make the falling seem naturally and move in such a way to make the shifting seem like the breeze is pushing the sands as it was meant to. If you move you must mean it and so he did, moving up the dune to the large rock face jutting out revealing angle after angle of the top. Upon reaching it he began to sweat in nervous anticipation as he drew his sword and when he got a clear view of the  top he realized all too late the mistake he has made.

He saw a pattern of sand, creating a sort of uneven circle, blacked by something of intense heat and at its center stray strands of seeds, feathers and bones. Bones scattered about in various sizes some small resembling rodents or foxes and some large, large enough to be human even... the rocks shifted again but this time a shadow came with them. The dark shape was long and wide, it ascended from the corner of Adisa’s eyes nearly passing his head. He instinctively lowered himself narrowly missing what looked like oily claws, dark and wet. The shape made clear now he looked at its scales and snarling visage. It had green and blue feathers across his arms that would have spanned a horse and a half with turquoise scales glinting in the moonlight all across its body. Their head had feathers that formed a sort of mane extending along their back long the spine to the very tip of a long tail surrounded in spiky greenish blue barbs. They opened their jaw wide, showing rows of teeth black with a liquid familiar to Adisa. They had a huge gash along the side of their shoulder blade. They made no sound, only a low growl...then it leapt up into the air and with a sudden crack of their tail barbs sharp like steel daggers were soaring towards Adisa. With just enough time he deflected the first 3 with a flash of his sword but the last created a gash in his forearm and more black liquid spilled onto the sand. He readied his sword while extending a hand that he slowly clenched into a fist.   
  
“Iid..” he let out with a low exasperated breath as he made a punching motion towards the creature. As his fist moved so did the surrounding sand before quickly striking in the shoulder close to where the bleeding wound lay. Tongues of blood flicked across the creature as it screeched shaking the nearby loose rocks. Seemingly piercing through the screech something else was yelling as if in his mind.

“AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE YYAAA!!” pierced his ears as a blade, silvery like the moon, cut deep into the neck of the beast. Then a loud “AARD!!” was yelled and the head of the creature exploded off their body.  Adisa turned to his surprise, another  witcher . They were small, hair brown and cut close to the scalp on both sides with a fierce yet somehow concerned expression on their face. They had vials equipped across their chest like a bandolier of potions. Beneath was a black leather  hauberk with a hood attached that they had gryphons and bears embossed all over. Their boots even had them along with fur jutting out of the rim. They wore a tan long  sleeve shirt beneath the hauberk that didn’t quite reach their gloves . They breathed in deep while sheathing what looked like a  9 inch blade attached to a staff. 

“...First question...why did you do that??”  Adisa said as the nearby shouts of the guards started to sound like they were coming closer.

“Uh, what were YOU doing?? Clearly this was my hunt and here you come along looking all stoic with your weird swords and your weird magic telling me how to do my job?!” They said walking towards  Adisa pointing their finger in a stabbing motion.

“Maybe you should mind your own business, you ever think of that?!” they continued, “I have half a mind to not share a single coin of this hunt since I did ALL of the work!” They stared as if proving a final point.

Adisa couldn’t help but chuckle, “Are you all right??” 

They let out a small sigh, “Yea I’m just messing with you, I’ll share the coin with you if you use that horse of yours to carry this baby boy since it ate my horse and we’ll call it even saavy??” they extended a hand, gloved with symbols surrounding the rim of openings that Adisa found unfamiliar.    
  
“Counter-offer how about you help me deal with these guys and I’ll carry your dragon for free??” Adisa gesturing towards the incoming guards.   
  
“Uh fine, but don’t go changing your mind after.” They moved to the ledge of the rock face near the nest of feathers, bones, and soot looking out over the approaching group.

“Hey I uh didn’t exactly get your name.” He said as he sheathed his sword and starting towards the ledge.

“Yep that’s right.” They said as they were looking through their pockets and retrieved what looked like a spherical object with a black wick sticking out.

“Wait, they don’t need to die. I need one of them awake to ask some questions.”  Adisa reached out for their hand.

They whipped their hand away from  Adisa , “What did you think I was going to do?? This will only stun.” They began to look through their pack again.

Adisa held out his hand and snapped his fingers, creating sparks and a small flame that licked his thumb, “Here and sorry I didn’t mean to over reach.”

“Is killing always the first thing you think  of?...  And thanks.” They ignited the small bomb and as the guards began climbing up the rock  face they threw it full in the face of the closest guard who reflexively caught it before it exploded in a blue cloud crackling with energy knocking them down the dune and catching the other guards as they tumbled. 

“No not particularly, I guess I just wonder if I have to at any given time which leads me to think of killing.”  Adisa said with slight resentment as he leapt off the rock face into the dune and slid down the sand to land amongst the guards. Their garb looked blood red, even in the night. Sashes surrounded their heads and were tucked into their mail jerkins with leather shoulder pads. Each have sheathed swords and daggers on their belts. Gloves used as a perch for their bonded hawks covered their hands. The symbol of the dragon hunter queen was embossed on the gloves. He counted 4 which should  meant 4 hawks. He checked the guard post and saw 2 perched waiting patiently. 

“Men are the same, bitter when questioned... even witchers” The other witcher said as they moved gracefully down the sand. They walked towards Adisa but was stopped in their tracks. A guard reached up and grabbed their ankle. With their other hand they reached for a dagger sheathed behind their back. Before they could plunge the dagger into their leg they drew their staff and knocked the dagger out of their grasp. They began to strike the guard on the ground but they were fast enough to roll to the side and get to their feet. 

“ Iid !”  Adisa yelled and a wave shot out from the edge of their palm in a sweeping motion knocking the legs out from beneath the guard with the crunching sound of bones caving in.

“But they do have their uses.” The other  witcher said.

“This one is known as  Adisa and I can at least assume you are a lady?”  Adisa said while breathing heavily.

“You should cool it on the magic, you’ll exhaust yourself before you even start....and yes you may know me as Lyla...” She said sheathing her staff while moving back up the dune.

Lyla? Like the flowers of the Isles he thought. He remembered Blue’s description, a flower so red you’d swear the color was named after it , alluring and undeniable. He pushed the thought away even though it nagged at him.

“We should get moving, they already sent messages on their hawks. More will be here soon.” He said while disarming the  guards and bonding them with their own restraints.

“You want to ask me something don’t you? Well how about you ask me when we get to that tavern down the road? The quartermaster  Nuru is waiting to receive this beautiful boy’s head.” Lyla said shuffling up the dune.

“ Nuru ??  Oh that’s funny.”  Adisa chuckled knowingly.

“What’s so funny??” She said with curiosity filled eyes.

“Well that’s who I’m retrieving from this prison here, seems the old Manticore has enlisted some help.”  Adisa raised an eyebrow looking towards Lyla.

“...Are you messing with me  witcher ?...That child of a.... uuuuggghhhh ” She sighed. “...Let me hide the head at least, hand me one of their pouches with the hawk powder.” She gestured towards the gaurds.

“What do you need the power of the desert for?? Hawk Eyes is nothing to gamble with my lady.”  Adisa said as he snagged one of the pouches and tossed it her way.

“I’m not your lady.” She stared at him with eyes filled with crimson as red as the Lyla was said to be.

“I am a  witcher like you and will be treated as your superior.” She turned back up the dune.

Superior?? He wondered. Does she know how long I’ve been on the Path? Could she be.... wait. His thoughts interrupted by the distant pounding of hoofs. “We’re out of time, hurry.” He whistled and  Petre came trotting over. Lifting one of the guards up onto the horse he began moving  Petre off the road and began cover his sand tracks as he guided them away towards the larger dunes in the direction of the prison.

Lyla came with the head on a large hook and covered her tracks as  Adisa did, whispering  Aard to push the sand in more natural ways. They moved silently over a dune just out of sight as a small  troupe of guards arrived at the post, at least 6 men and 3 hawks. 

“Keep moving.”  Adisa whispered and they continued to usher  Petre towards the base of the next large dune. “How can they not see us? Even in this darkness, we should be standing out like a dragon’s ass.” Lyla  whipsered . 

“It’s the Hawk’s Eyes, makes them hyper aware but their eyesight becomes very poor after the addiction sets in.” Adisa responded.

She chuckled, “Why is it called that then??”

“Because for the first few weeks, you feel like a hawk. You’re fast, nimble, you can even smell things others wouldn’t believe. And the eyesight only degrades if you abuse it, which as you can imagine-”  Adisa was interrupted by a shuffling of sand before a flash of red. Leaping down on him was a hawk master with a large scimitar carving straight for his head. He rolled to the side as the blade came down and struck the head of the dragon causing a ringing sound as it deflected off the scales. Lyla using  Petre leapt across the saddle and planted both feet into the guard’s head. They fell on their side and tumbled down the dune. They landed at the feet of  Adisa ready to receive his attack. What  Adisa didn’t expect however was a white powder sprayed into his face. He held his breath and struck into the cloud but his fist struck sand.  Adisa exhaled out and blew away the powder to see they had disappeared.

“Time to move!” Adisa said sternly and began pulled  Petre up the dune.

“There!” Lyla pointed towards an opening towards the base of a dune not 30 meters away. It looked like an opening that was once used for sewage but was walled off with thick iron bars.

“What are you doing?! That’s literally a wall we don’t have time for-”  Adisa stopped as the night sky above grew even darker as a mass of wings and claw started to form. He’d heard of this before, the gnashing of beak and feathers that fell upon all how tried to escape this place. “Never mind you’re right.” He moved his feet as quickly as he could through the shifting sands.

“ Of course I’m right.” She said. “Be a good horse and stay over there.”  Petre made it so as she had reached the blocked passage first. She breathed in deep and sparks began pouring from her finger tips as she took the stance. Her concentration became fire streaming from her hands striking against the iron bars, heat and sparks sliding off the metal.

Adisa said, “Impressive but try to focus on your breathing rather than the fire.” He breathed in deep while take a stance next to her. His eyes glowed hot and from his mouth he let out a fire like hers. Their combined flame began to work the metal into a paste.

“Don’t tell me how to Igni!” She retorted as that anger was directed into fire.   
  
Petre began whining nervously. The mass of hawks swarming in the sky began to swirl and move in their very direction. Bar by bar, began to give way as a molten pool started to form on the ground heating the nearby sand into a glossy mixture. The hole forming was now sizable enough for a horse to make it through.

“Alright that’s good, together now!” Lyla withdrew her flame and drew her hands in at the same time as Adisa.

“ Iid !!” “ Aard !!” They shouted together and a blast of energy pressed against the hole forcing an even wider gap. The cracking of the surrounding sandstone could be heard. Lyla fell to her feet in exhaustion.

“Don’t make me tell you how to stand up!”  Adisa said grabbing her and lifting her over  Petre . “Head down!” He slapped the horse’s rear and it galloped into the opening with Lyla on their back. 

“On the Isles you are the stupidest  witcher I’ve ever-” Her voice faded as she went into the darkness and for a moment a silence took. The mass in the sky was still for just a moment before one after the other they began to dive.

“Alright let’s see if I remember how this one goes.”  Adisa stood in the mouth of the opening began shifting his hands as if drawing a symbol in the air. A crackling energy with an orange hue began to form around a half sphere in front of Adisa.

“DIRE!!” He shouted and the energy solidified into a slightly reflective surface. The first hawk struck it smashing its body at full speed and crumpling to floor. Then another and another. Eventually blood pooled at the bottom. The rocks began falling from above the opening as more and more hawks were forcing themselves upon the field. 

Adisa let out a harrowing cry, “ aaAAAAAGGGHHHH !!”

“On the Isle you are so loud, shut up!” Lyla said as she stood next to him and shouted “YRDEN!!”

Her own cackling energies reinforced the field. The opening cracked more and more  and than the ceiling began to weaken. 

“Don’t tell me to shut up!”  Adisa shouted.

“ Oh those are going to be your last words?!” Lyla shouted back. “ Nuru was right about you, head in the clouds, focus!”

“What did you say??”  Adisa was in disbelief and a hawk screeched past a gap in the field smashing behind in a  poof of feathers and viscera.

“FOCUS ADISA” Lyla shouted back.

“Sorry, sorry”  Adisa realigned and the gap closed with orange energy.

The hawks began to stop diving for the moment.  Adisa fell to his knees.

“What are you doing?!” Lyla  yelled, the field began to collapse. “This isn’t the time to give up come on, with me!” She pointed towards the opening as the ceiling began to give way.

Adisa raised his head “Together... Blue I hope you got my letter...” he said.

“Dire!!” “YRDEN” They shouted and the energy bled into the cracks of the ceiling shattering its last supports. “Move!!” Lyla yelled as she dragged Adisa back into the tunnel. The hawks began diving once more into the crumbling opening as the cave in commenced. In the darkness they could hear the splattering a little bodies and Petre whining as the rocks came tumbling down sealing the tunnel. For a moment silence.   
  
Adisa’s thumb lit up. Lyla was holding his chest and Adisa had his other hand on the small of her back. Her face was close to his, her lips inviting. She stared at him for a moment, as if the ember of her eyes was shifting to something else in the light.

“S-sorry” Lyla said while quickly getting up.

“ No it’s my fault I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.”  Adisa said while scratching his head.

“ No I mean I should have told you who I am.” Lyla said. She held out her hand. He took her hand and took a look around. The bodies were scatted all about, bird flesh across sandstone and an uneasy horse trotting back and forth in the dark. Adisa moved to calm Petre.

“Are you Blue?” He said staring at her.

“.. No I’m sorry, she’s a  witcher of the Gryphon school like me but she’s on another mission in the southern part of Zerrakia. I’ve known her a long time so I know about your letters....” She couldn’t quite make eye contact.

“What happened to her...”  Adisa said searching her expression.

“She’s alive...last I heard but that was many months ago. Some  witchers from my school were said to be executed but we haven’t identified them.  Nuru says they can help so I took their contract to break them out. The dragon was part of it...” Lyla rubbed her arm nervously.

“Lyla it’s all right, there’s a chance she’s alive. You’ve given me that hope at least.”  Adisa said while putting a reassuring hand on Lyla’s shoulder. “As for  Nuru they should have told me, we could have...well it doesn’t matter now. Thank you. You must be the  witcher they hunted with back when they went to the Isles.” 

“Your welcome... and yea was a tough hunt... not sure it was the best option either. The monster helped the local fauna a lot, even some strains we thought extinct they helped bring back. Anyway, just so you know, Blue is like a sister to me...so if you find her let me know??”

“ Of course yea...  lets keep moving.”  Adisa check his swords and vials.

“Hey do you swallow?” Lyla asked while check her own equipment.

“Excuse me??”  Adisa raised an eyebrow. “I mean if you think it’s the best time for that...”

“On the...I swear upon the ocean, NO I mean do you have a potion for regeneration?” Lyla let out with a sigh.

Adisa chuckled, “Yes I do, here, it’s a little different mixture but it gets the job done.” He handed her an orange hue vial. She began drinking until half was left and gave the rest back to  Adisa who finished the vial.

“ It’s got a strange after taste.” Lyla then belched loud enough for it to echo within the tunnel. “And some kick... don’t look at me.”

“It’s alright.”  Adisa chuckled and then belched himself. “See? No shame.”


End file.
